While visiting the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas earlier this year, I captured this image of two green jays in action:

Green JaysGreen Jays (Cyanocorax yncas) at the Santa Clara Ranch near McCook, Texas on January 11, 2014 To improve my chances of capturing this photo, I used the following approach:

• Secured the camera/lens to a tripod.
• Pre-focused on the stump and left the focus there.
• Set the aperture at f/8 to provide enough depth of field to keep both birds in focus.
• Used high speed continuous burst mode--more frames means more chances of getting an acceptable image.
• Set the shutter speed at 1/2000th of a second.

Since the image was already framed with the camera locked down on a tripod and the focus was set, I didn't even need to look through the viewfinder to take this picture. I simply waited for the birds to enter the frame and then initiated a continuous burst of frames. Using this approach, an acceptable image was created every so often. With today's digital technology, I just deleted the frames that didn't work out.

The thing that surprised me about this photo is the remaining blur of the wings at such a fast shutter speed (1/2000th). I thought that shutter speed would freeze the wings. In the end, I don't mind the amount of blur as it portrays motion. But, those wings must have been moving at near hummingbird speed for movement to be present at 1/2000th!

I visit the Brookfield Zoo quite often to practice my photography. It's a great location for photographers--plenty of interesting subjects and an environment where photography is encouraged.

During my many visits, I have captured pictures of most of the animals in the zoo. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to photograph one of the monkeys inside the Tropic World exhibit for the first time! Based on the signage, I initially thought this was a Capachin Monkey. Now, I'm awaiting a more accurate identification of this primate.

The monkey acknowledged this milestone with a respectful salute!

The SaluteRed-faced spider monkey (Ateles paniscus) in the Tropic World exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois on March 17, 2014.

A year ago, I ventured into the abandoned Manteno State Hospital. Only one building on the original campus remains untouched. All of the other buildings were demolished or renovated. Click here to read my blog entry from back then.

A few month back, I returned to the site for what was most likely my last visit. There is a new housing development going up across the street and it won't be long before this structure is demolished.

The hospital is located in Manteno, Illinois and was abandoned in the early 1980's. At one time, over 8,000 patients were housed in the facility. With a staff of less just over 200 people, the facility had a reputation for inadequate care. Stories of patient abuse surfaced--and hundreds of patients died during their "treatment". This building is well known to "ghost hunters" around the country. Visitors report hearing screaming--and some insist that they've seen ghosts.

I wasn't too concerned about the ghosts for two reasons. First, the building has deteriorated so much that I practically felt like I was outside in many of the rooms! Next, HDR Efex Pro2 has the "Ghost Reduction" feature--which I set at 100%.

My biggest concerns were meeting up with a less than desirable character in there (and possibly interrupting a drug deal) or having a section of the roof fall on me. 

I brought my Nikon D800 camera, Nikon 14-24 2.8 lens and Gitzo tripod with me into the building. All of the photographs consist of multiple exposures blended together using HDR Efex Pro2 software to create high dynamic range (HDR) images. HDR was critical here as most of the scenes had a combination of bright highlights from the windows along with dark shadows in the building. Here are a few of the images:

Abandoned hospital god beams Manteno State Hospital Manteno State Hospital Manteno State Hospital

Fortunately, I lived to blog the story!

You never know when a photo opportunity will present itself!

Ice berries

This morning, my "Dual Staircases" picture won Imaging Resource's "Photo of the Day".

This photograph was captured earlier this year in the Old Mississippi State Capitol building in Jackson, Mississippi.

This marks the 16th time in the last 17 months that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". Of those, 5 of the 16 pictures are staircases!

I visited 28 State Capitol buildings in the past two years. While visiting the Capitols, I am often asked which one is my favorite. Earlier on in this process, a wise tour guide once told me that the correct answer to this question is the Capitol that I'm currently visiting!

While visiting the Iowa Capitol, I hesitated slightly before answering that question from the Iowa State Capitol tour guide. One of the other tourists quickly reminded me that "Iowa" is the correct answer.

Iowa certainly has an impressive State Capitol and I enjoyed my visit to Des Moines very much. However, it's not my favorite Capitol building. In my opinion, the Iowa Capitol tries a little too hard to be majestic. It features a little too much shiny gold and has a few too many light bulbs inside the interior dome--probably more appropriate for a theater marquee. And, is it really necessary to try to outdo the other Capitols by having five domes instead of just one? Although, I must concede that the Law Library of the Iowa Capitol is one of the most impressive rooms inside any State Capitol.

Iowa State Law LibraryThe Iowa State Law Library is located on the Capitol's second floor. The law library features four ornamental balconies with spiraled cast-iron railings and circular staircases at each end. Photo captured at the Iowa State Capitol building at 1007 E Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on August 19, 2013. This photograph consists of five exposures blended together using HDR Efex Pro2 software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image.

Most of the State Capitols have much in common. Generally, there is a grand entrance, an impressive rotunda, a beautiful interior dome, murals depicting important events in the history of the state, a Senate and House chamber, a Supreme Court chamber, interesting sculptures, etc. On the other hand, the Capitols are also unique. For example, New Mexico doesn't have a dome and looks more like a contemporary art museum. North Dakota resembles a large office building. Nebraska has interesting corridors below the ground floor.

Capitol corridorCorridor in the Nebraska State Capitol building at 1445 K Street in Lincoln, Nebraska on August 18, 2013. This photograph consists of three exposures blended together using HDR Efex Pro2 software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. My least favorite Capitol to date is a relatively easy choice. In my opinion, Nevada is the least impressive of the buildings that I've photographed so far--although I enjoyed my visit to Carson City as a whole. The Nevada State Capitol building is very small. It's so small that it no longer houses the Senate, House or Supreme Court Chambers. Those chambers were moved to a different facility. The original House and Senate chambers are still located on the upper floor of the Capitol. But, one was sitting empty while the other housed a few exhibits. I was hard pressed to create a set of interesting photographs during my visit to the Nevada State Capitol.

Given that I find each Capitol to be unique, it's difficult to choose a favorite. However, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Kentucky and Montana are certainly considerations. Others were very enjoyable to photograph--Michigan, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Oregon.

My "Spiral Staircase" photograph took third place in Imaging Resource's photo contest for the month of January:

The Mississippi Capitol was the 26th Capitol that I photographed. I usually don't have to deal with the challenge of having the legislature in session during my capitol visits as most of my travel occurs in the summer. But, the legislature was in session when I arrived in Jackson, Mississippi.

As I entered the building, I asked the security guard if the chambers were open to photography. He told me that photography was prohibited in the chambers while the legislature was in session. However, he said that if I checked with a tour guide it might be possible to get into the chambers for a few minutes since congress was on break. Congress wouldn't be reconvening for a couple of hours.

The woman at the information desk was extremely helpful when I informed her of my goal of photographing all of the state capitols and that I would only be in Jackson for the day. She said that she would do her best to get me into the chambers. There was another security guard positioned just outside the Senate chamber. She explained to him what I was doing and he very reluctantly said that I could enter the chamber--but only if nobody else was in there. He left to check the room. Several minutes later, he returned to tell me that I could have five minutes for photography. He walked me inside and pointed out a very small space where I had to stand. I didn't even need the full five minutes as the space that I was restricted to offered no chance to capture a picture of the room. Fortunately, the stained glass dome of the Senate chamber was directly over my head, so I was able to get one picture from there:

Senate domeInterior dome in the Senate chamber of the Mississippi State Capitol building at 400 High Street in Jackson, Mississippi on January 13, 2014. This photograph consists of five exposures blended together to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. According to the woman from the information desk, the security guard gave her a hard time about asking permission for me to enter the chamber. He told her to never do anything like that again! I said that I would understand if she didn't want to help me gain access to the House chamber. But, she said that it couldn't hurt to try.

The security guard outside of the House chamber was more cooperative. He told me that I could have ten minutes to shoot and that I could walk wherever I wanted within the room. At first he told me that I couldn't use my tripod, but he changed his mind when I explained that I needed it under such low light conditions and that it was hardly a safety hazard given that nobody else was in the room.

Although the representatives were on break, the room was filled with clutter from the morning's working session. For the most part, I didn't like the photographs as I'm far more accustomed to shooting empty chambers with clean desks. I relied on my fisheye lens to emphasize the ceiling and place less emphasis on the floor area:

House chamberHouse chamber of the Mississippi State Capitol building at 400 High Street in Jackson, Mississippi on January 13, 2014. This photograph consists of five exposures blended together to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. When the legislature is in session, access to the chambers isn't the only issue. The corridors and rotunda are crowded with people. It's nearly impossible to capture images, especially multiple long exposures for HDR, without having someone walk in front of the camera. It took a long time to capture this next image of the rotunda--and yet there were still several people in the frame:

Capitol rotundaFisheye view of the rotunda of the Mississippi State Capitol building at 400 High Street in Jackson, Mississippi on January 13, 2014. This photograph consists of five exposures blended together to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. One saving grace was that Mississippi's Old Capitol building is still standing. I visited the Old Capitol the next morning and captured many photographs of the beautiful interior of that building without anybody in there:

Dual staircasesStaircases in the entrance of the Old Mississippi State Capitol building (1839) at 100 S State Street in Jackson, Mississippi on January 14, 2014. This photograph consists of seven exposures blended together to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. House of RepresentativesHouse of Representatives chamber in the Old Mississippi State Capitol building (1839) at 100 S State Street in Jackson, Mississippi on January 14, 2014. This photograph consists of seven exposures blended together to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. When I returned to the hotel after my visit to the Mississippi Capitol building, the first thing I did was check to see when the legislature was scheduled to be in session for my next two locations--Alabama and Tennessee. It turned out that sessions were scheduled to begin the next day for both of these states! Fortunately, Arkansas was not in session. So, I cancelled my hotel reservations for Montgomery and Nashville and made a new reservation for Little Rock. That turned out to be a wise choice as I had the Arkansas Capitol to myself. And, I enjoyed several other locations while visiting Little Rock as well.